Readers' Platform: Out of the past

Published 4:00 am, Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Has "classic" cinema had its day? Mick LaSalle's front-page story Monday detailing the life-or-death struggle of repertory landmarks, like San Francisco's Castro Theatre and the Balboa, brought numerous responses from readers. Some lamented the passing of their own favorites; others said the survivors need to come up with more appealing fare. But there were also examples offered of repertory cinemas not only alive but also doing very well.

Below is a sample, edited for space, of reader comments posted on SFGate.com. To read more comments, and link to LaSalle's story, go to sfgate.com/ZCKO.

I sure hope the Castro survives. But I like my home system way better. I can eat, drink and smoke, and not have to listen to some jabbering idiot or, conversely, be shushed.

While "classic rep" revivals of Hollywood features may be losing audiences to DVD (a great pity), experimental and avant-garde film and video programs are still packing 'em in all over San Francisco. Come and check out a program at Artists' Television Access on Valencia Street, especially one of Craig Baldwin's "Other Cinema" programs, or one of Irina Leimbacher and Konrad Steiner's "Kino21" programs, and you're likely to see an enthusiastic room of people who have come to enjoy a communal experience impossible in front of a home TV screen.

There is still an audience for classic repertory, but the model is nonprofit. The Stanford Theatre still brings in both young moviegoers (Stanford students) and old, who want a night out, want a big screen and are interested in film history. The price for a ticket is more affordable than the big theaters. Also, the Packard Foundation supports this because it is David Packard's passion. Any theater that wants to continue with classical repertory would most likely need to look at a different economic model. There is an audience, but there are no profits, just enough to keep the passion going and support a niche fan base.

- Dawn Abel, 56, Redwood City

If you really want to draw the crowds, look at the new Sundance Kabuki: a complete renovation, and it added two bars and now serves gourmet food and alcohol in one of the theaters. Plus, you can reserve your seat in advance (which I love!). Now, they charge a pretty penny, and that's fine with me. I'll pay a premium surcharge for comfortable seats, great food, superior sound and projection and, most important, an appreciative and respectful audience. Cell phones aren't going off, people aren't talking and moving around or, worst of all, talking back at the screen (which is one of the worst offenses at the Castro: Shut the heck up, you hipster doofus!).

A lot of our repertory movie houses are pits. The Red Vic [in San Francisco's Haight] is actually pretty nice, though. I like its pews. The problem with the Roxie is its screens are often too small and they sometimes show films on video. Plus, it kinda smells like my mom's basement in there. Nice people, though. I just walked by the Victoria Theater on 16th Street and there was a line going around the block. So there is a market.

My cinebuddy and I go to the Roxie [in San Francisco's Mission District] for our rep films. Great neighborhood. Wonderful restaurants. Lots of atmosphere. And an outstanding ice cream parlor run by a very nice Southeast Asian family. What's the Castro district got after dark? Bars and bus stops. As for Hussey, pardon me while I stifle a yawn.

I wish we had a rep house here in Santa Rosa. I remember going to the Cento Cedar with my dad in the late '70s. Seeing "The Adventures of Robin Hood" on a big screen - there's nothing better. As a huge fan of Netflix and cable TV, I think there are still some films that were meant for the big screen and the shared experience of the theater.

I grew up on the movies of the '30s and '40s and admire what Gary Meyer tried to do at my neighborhood theater, the Balboa. The big problem is that the vast majority of old movies are very bad - sentimental, silly or cliched. Nostalgia evaporates quickly.

I remember living in Washington, D.C., in the early '80s and paying $1 to see two movies at the Century on Pennsylvania Avenue. Now it's a parking lot. Your feet stuck to the floor, but it had a nice big screen. [Now], when you factor in tickets and parking, I can see why people don't go out. You need cheap tickets, cheap real estate (to hold those penniless twenty- and thirtysomethings) and free parking and that ain't happenin' around here nowadays.